Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs Recipe

Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs are every bit as dreamy as they sound. These ribs are super succulent and the pumpkin braising sauce is subtly sweet, rich and creamy.This post may contain Amazon affiliate links for your convenience at no additional cost to you.

It’s October. It’s fall. So naturally, it’s time to cook with pumpkins and make warm, comforting one-pot meals.

Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs are a treat not to be missed. And good news, you can make this over the weekend and enjoy it all week long. It only gets better with time.How much do you love it when you arrive at a home, and you’re immediately swept in by alluring, comforting, aromas of food cooking?

I love it.

Making braised short ribs will do that very thing! And if you decide to make this for guests, I think they’ll take in some of this incredible aroma as they step out of their car and head up your walkway. And they’ll be thinking, “I can only hope that’s coming from this house.”

Believe me, I know time is precious, but so is food.

Sure, this recipe takes some thoughtful planning, but after you get it going, it’ll just hang out in the oven for a couple of hours (and perfume your home while it does).

Every good stew begins with onions. Always!

My Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs are divine served over, Creamy Gorgonzola Polenta. Pasta or bread would also be lovely — something to soak up every bit of the sauce.

Enjoy every last bite of this most amazingly comforting and delicious Pumpkin Braised Short Ribs dish!

Can’t get enough short ribs? Here are a couple more delicious short rib recipes . . .

Place the ribs on a baking sheet and season all sides generously with salt and pepper.

Lightly coat the bottom of an oven-safe pot (approximately 10 to 12-inch diameter), with olive oil. (A Dutch Oven is perfect.) Place the pot over high heat. Add the ribs to the pot once it's very hot, about 4 at a time -- you should hear a sizzling sound, and if you don't, it's not hot enough. Wait until it's very hot and listen for the sizzle! Searing the meat this way seals in the juices, caramelizes the surface, and reduces the overall cooking time. Brown the ribs very well, about three minutes per side. Remove the ribs from pot, place them on a plate, and set aside. Repeat this until all of the ribs are browned.

Add the onions to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring every couple of minutes, until they are golden and are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the fresh thyme and cinnamon and cook for another minute or so, until it's very aromatic. Now add the pumpkin and cook until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. The bottom of your pot will become brown, too, and this is okay. In fact, it's great! It is flavor!

Let the mixture simmer until it has reduced by about 1/3, about 20 minutes.

Return the ribs to the pot and gently stir them into the sauce. Cover the pot and place in the preheated 325 degree oven. Braise until the meat is very tender and easily comes off the bone, about 2 hours. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time.

If the braising liquid is as think as you'd like it to be, then it's ready, otherwise, to thicken the liquid further, remove the lid, place the pot over low heat on the stove, and let it simmer until it's as thick as you'd like.

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Comments

I am such a short ribs girl…. I make them all the time…. NEVER in my life have I had them prepared like this. It looks like I’ve been missing out. I will have to prepare them with pumpkin very soon. Thank you. 🙂

I’m actually planning on short ribs for a dinner party next Saturday and will try your recipe. I often make short ribs a day ahead, stick on the fridge so that the fat on top congeals and can be removed. Think that would work with your recipe? Thanks – love the pumpkin touch…

Saying ‘hello’ from Down Under I am coming from a country where ‘short ribs’ are certainly available, but perchance not an everyday ingredient. Have read many a Northern recipe but not been as enchanted as by yours: the amount of onion, garlic and my beloved thyme and the presence and amount of wine in your recipe, make it very moreish and doable in my book – thanks !

Mmmm…I love beef short ribs! They are the very definition of winter comfort food. And you nailed it with the comment about ‘perfuming your house.’ I wonder if I can buy a bottle of that! 🙂 I’ve never thought about using pumpkin in the braising liquid, though. I’m super intrigued…I need to try this one ASAP!

Short ribs are SO GOOD! Haven’t add pumpkin to the mix, though. I’ll bet it’s good — I make a pumpkin chili sometimes, and the texture is so smooth. Terrific recipe — thanks (and thanks for the link love!).

What a warming looking dish. I love the combination of a pumpkin braised short-ribs and served over Gorgonzola polenta, wow. Over here we don’t get nice beef short ribs, but we do get amazing pork short ribs. I think I try this recipe with them.

Valentina, we have a tradition in our house of picking a dish from the posts we receive during the week and I then cook it for our Sunday family dinner. Yesterday, we made your Pumpkin braised Short Ribs. We used a Swedish pork cut called “Tjocka revben” or Thick rib bone. We couldn’t find a cooking pumpkin (no canned here either), so we used butternut squash. The dish was absolutely delicious and paired perfectly with polenta. My wife translated into Swedish and is passing it on to her family. Thanks again for a great recipe.

Hi Ron, You’ve made my day! Thank you so much for sharing, and for trying the recipe. Love the tradition of making a new recipe each week. I bet the butternut squash worked perfectly — such a similar flavor and texture. And please thank you wife for passing it on to her family. Hope they love it too. 🙂 ~Valentina